Unwrapping a treat at the Mill

IT’S not easy for regional theatre-goers to find an alternative to panto over the Christmas period. The Yvonne Arnaud Theatre has bridged the gap with The Christmas Present which played to full houses at the Mill for the three days just before Christmas Eve.

IT’S not easy for regional theatre-goers to find an alternative to panto over the Christmas period. The Yvonne Arnaud Theatre has bridged the gap with The Christmas Present which played to full houses at the Mill for the three days just before Christmas Eve.

It was about as far from the bland predictability of pantomime as Shakespeare is from the X Factor . It is, however, funny, and it is all about Christmas. Not the jolly, family Christmas many enjoy but the reality of the festive season for lonely people.

Not that Colin was settling for another frozen turkey dinner and a surfeit of mediocre television. He’d bought himself an expensive present. A stay in a hotel and a £400 gift. The services of a prostitute for 36 fun-filled hours.

When Holly turns up in a short dress several sizes too small and thigh length patent leather boots with three-inch heels, looking like Nigella, we think he’s really hit the jackpot.

Except that she’s a fantasy and the real thing when it arrives is Debbie, in combat jacket, trousers and trainers, a single mother and not too happy at having to work over the holiday. A promising situation and one which writer Gary Picot exploits to the full.

Sex with the fantasy is earth moving. Sex with the real girl is less than satisfactory. Holly sings carols in perfect harmony and lovingly massages his feet. Debbie sings pop songs and gives as good as she gets verbally. Real life is nothing near as good as imaginary life.

There are lots of laughs, but under the humour is the nitty gritty of sad lives and desperation.

Gary Sefton’s Colin was naïve, gauche and likeable but you were never quite sure if he was dangerous or harmless. Mandy Jackson as Debbie gave a performance of such reality that it was almost a surprise to see her taking a bow at the end. And the glamour fantasy girl (Zara Plessard), was not just a fantastic lay, but a sympathetic ear and a good companion.

But Colin’s fantasising had a dark side. Some of his daydreams involved killing people and imaginings spilled over into reality in the knife he hid and occasionally carried. A weird, possibly dangerous nutter? Or a harmless dreamer?

The Christmas Present was the perfect antidote to pantomime for those who needed it.